Jumbo herd bring traffic to a halt in Athagarh

Cuttack: A jumbo herd of at least 18 elephants returned from the Chandaka-Damapada jungle in the morning on Wednesday and were found in the Sukasan Reserve Forest under the Athagarh Range area since then.

In the evening, the elephants crossed the Athagarh-Mundali road near the Dalkhai temple and halted in the same jungle.

Elephant trackers were watching the movement of the pachyderms. The nearby villagers were also informed about the elephants’ presence.

The forest officials with vehicles and other equipments were engaged to divert the elephants from the agricultural fields, he said.